Valtteri Bottas: “We must keep working on the good pace we’ve been showing recently.”

For the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, the fortunate one-point from Mexico last week seems to have motivated and given the team a well-needed boost of confidence after a dismal few races. Finnish driver, Valtteri Bottas, was particularly pleased with the results from the last race after the C42 picked up the pace in Mexico City, allowing the car to be pushed into the top ten.

Ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Bottas is keeping an open mind and heading to South America in good spirits after taking time to reflect on the season so far. The Alfa Romeo driver seems to have high hopes for the race results this year, as bagging a podium was fresh on his mind.

“As a Formula One driver, the Brazilian Grand Prix is one of those races everyone wants to experience: the fans’ passion for the sport is incredible, and to be on the podium is an incredible thing to do.

“It was good to get back to scoring points in Mexico, especially after the difficult races we had in the second part of the season. I’m getting there in good spirits: I spent the past week in Argentina, exploring wonderful places and immersing myself in South American culture, and I feel rested and ready for the final two races of the season.”

After recentering himself and spending long periods of time in the South American culture, Bottas is staying focused and keeping his head down to make sure the team completes the job at hand, scoring points. After avoiding the threat of falling behind, the team is eager to build on the pace and maintain impressive performances.

“Our job is not finished, yet: we must keep working on the good pace we have been showing recently, as well as on our execution, to keep up with our performances and get in the mix to bring home more points ahead of the final showdown next week.”

Zhou Guanyu: “It’s another new track for me.”

Team-mate Zhou Guanyu has high hopes for his first Brazilian Grand Prix, after getting the first taste of the track on the simulator, Zhou is excited to get out on the track for his first time in Sao Paulo as a Formula One driver. The rich history Brazil holds for Formula One makes it an attractive race, especially for first-timers like Zhou, who is arriving with a positive mindset.

“Some of the most iconic names of our sport come from Brazil, and I am really looking forward to be racing there this weekend, on such hallowed ground. It’s another new track for me, even though I got the first taste of it in the simulator in the past weeks, and for this reason, I have such high expectations.”  

Like Bottas, Zhou is also focused on the points that could widen the gap between Constructor Championship competitors. Currently, the team sit in sixth place, four points ahead of Aston Marton Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, and with the McLaren F1 Team way ahead of Alfa Romeo, the team are hoping to hang onto sixth place and finish in Brazil with as many points as the car’s pace will allow.

“It was great for the team to get back in the top ten in Mexico, adding important points to our campaign. We know our pace is good, we had proof of it recently, and I’m confident if we keep doing our job well, we’ll be able to keep the momentum going.”

Brazil will feature the last sprint race of the season, which as fans and drivers know, brings the unknown into play, Zhou stated that the sprint race was heavily expected to affect the results of qualifying;

“It will also be a sprint race weekend, the final one of the season, so we must make sure to come prepared for that as well, as we have seen in the previous ones in Imola and Austria that anything can really happen.”